{"id":1247,"date":"2025-12-28T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-28T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/?p=1247"},"modified":"2025-12-28T14:01:23","modified_gmt":"2025-12-28T14:01:23","slug":"december-28th-childermass-christmas-games","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/december-28th-childermass-christmas-games\/","title":{"rendered":"Childermas & Christmas Games December 28th"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Pick-up-sticks or Spillikins<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

On the fourth day of Christmas
My true love sent to me
Four calling birds, Three French hens, Two turtle-doves
And a partridge in a pear tree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Holy Innocents Day or Childermas is dedicated to children on the day Herod ordered the slaughter of children aged two or under, in an attempt to kill the prophesied Messiah. However, the massacre is only mentioned by Matthew, and other classical sources, despite being anti-Herod, don’t mention it. It is thought to be ‘modelled’ on the massacre of young children mentioned in Exodus when the Pharoah hears about the birth of Moses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is, therefore, as far as folklore is concerned, an ill-omened day so don’t begin any new enterprise or, indeed, attempt to go back to work. And remember, as Childermas falls on a Sunday this year, Sundays throughout the year are all ill-omened days. There was a medieval tradition that people should avoid work on the day of the week that Childermas fell until the next childermas. Bad luck this year as it’s a Sunday! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Weather wise, according to a 17th formulae, as the fourth day of Christmas is warm, expect the fourth month, April to be similarly warm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Christmas Games<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

So, no sloping off to the Study, it’s best to spend the time playing Christmas Games. The one I remember, most fondly, is pick-up-sticks or spillikins. You drop a pile of sticks onto a table-top or the floor. Then have to pick up as many sticks as you can without disturbing any others. Your turn ends when you move a stick. Different sticks have different values. We also played Dominoes, Ludo and Snakes and Ladders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But, to get the whole room joining in, we played two card games. Participants could sit in their comfy armchairs rather than at a table.\u00a0 Chase the Ace.\u00a0 Newmarket.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chase the Ace is, apparently, also, rather unpleasantly, called Screw Your Neighbour in the US! Each person is dealt a card. In turn, they choose to swap it with their neighbour.\u00a0 At the end of the round, the lowest cardholder (ace is low) loses a life.\u00a0 A player is excluded after losing 3 lives. Last one standing is the winner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Newmarket (or Michigan) is a gambling game in which everyone places a stake on 4 picture cards. Theare are placed in the centre of the room.\u00a0 If your cards comes out in the play, you win the money staked on the card.\u00a0 The point of both these games is that any number of people can play, and they are simple and fast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another game we played at parties was Bullet Pudding. Players cut off bits of a flour pudding until the coin or bullet falls into the basin.\u00a0 The unlucky player (me last time I played) has to pick it up with his teeth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Bullet<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here is a photo of the one we played on 24th December,2024. My 97-year-old dad is in the background. You can see what a messy game it can be!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have moved the 18th Century Jane Austen Christmas Games<\/a> content from here to the page shown below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Christmas with Jane Austen December 20th<\/a><\/blockquote>